1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to dehumidifiers and, more particularly, to a low temperature dehumidifier for converting warm moist air to dry cool air.
2. The Prior Art
Humidifiers and dehumidifiers are well known in the art. Typically, a dehumidifier includes a housing having a fan to create an air flow, a catch basin within the housing and, means for cooling the flow of air to condense the moisture in the air flow for collection of moisture in the catch basin. Some old dehumidifiers are rather complex and probably inefficient. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 910,525 that issued to H. C. Gardner in 1909. A more recent one sequentially cools dry air in three distinct steps. See the U.S. Pat. No. 3,890,797 that was granted to T. R. Brown in 1975. Other known apparatus are of the special application type, such as the one for use in boats (U.S. Pat. No. 3,760,601, P. H. Bunten), or the one for use in combination with a water closet (U.S. Pat. No. 3,740,959, F. D. Foss). Still others find applications in industrial plants requiring large quantities of compressed air which must be completely dry. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,541,807 to J. H. Henderson and 4,193,443 to Nanaumi et al. All of these known devices appear to lack, among others, that most desirable combination of simplicity and efficiency. There is thus room for improvement.